Control system



Patented Jan. 15, 1946 I TED STATE S PATENT OFF-l CE CONTROL SYSTEM Clarence Atwell, -Pitt Westinghouse 'Electri sburgh, .Pa., assignor to c Corporation, East Pitts- 8 Claims.

The presentinvention: relates to direct-current :generatorstand, more-particularly, to a directcurrent generator intendedto be driven byan. internal combustion engine. The invention is especially applicable'to generators driven by. Diesel enginesysu'ch ;as; the generators used on Dieselelectric-locomotives, although itris obviously not restricted to. this-particular application and may the used inany engine-driven generator. Similar -sobject-matter is found in. applicant's copending application 551,115 filed of" even date.

In order to obtain the maximum power and, therefore,:.the most satisfactory operation,"from -:a.Diesel engine operating at fullxthrottlatheentgine; :must run at: substantially constant tspeed.

Whensuch an ae-nginevis usedtovdrive an electric agenerator, this means that the generator. charac- .teristics-must be such that itrequiresia'substan- :tially-constantpower input over. most or .allzofrthe mange .orgenerator load-current. Thus, .lfthe -power input required by. the-generatorqincreases when generator; load current increases, the a engine drivingthegenerator is overloaded; and its -speed:drops with resultant decrease in powemso that the-engine labors. It the power input; tothe generator decreases 'when' thergenerator. load current drops, the speedvof. the engine will increase, so. that; it races unless .itris provided :withza governor which reduces; the power: to; prevent over- .speeding. in orderto obtain the mostcdesirable-engine performance by. substantially con- "stout-speed operation, theggenera-tor should. require. substantially constantpower input from its prime mover over'most or all of the expected mngeot -generator load currents.

:In: order to satisfy this condition of: constant 1' power lnputwithvaryingload current in adirectcurrent :generator, .the generator voltage 'must varyiwlththe load current insuch a manner. that the 'productot generator voltage and load current,

divided. by. the efliciency at theparticular :load -ourrent, remains substantially constant-over; the mll normal range; of generator :lOfld .zcurrent. Variation of. the generator voltage in 'thismanner can most readilylzbe obtained by :controllingthe generator. BXCitatiODzSO BISIO cause: the voltage to vary..in'the desired manner as the-current varies. This resultcanbe obtained: by. using: a sep'arate exclter Ior exciting the; generatorrfield' windin .andcontrolling" the: excitations-of the exciter .by means-lof a:suitable-regulator; so that the-reeneratomexcitation is controlled in. the .desired:man =ner. aSuch a: special excitervwithxitsrassociated canister and: control z-equipment.;liowever.i adds iconsiderablytothecost or thecomplete generator installation and also occupies considerable space, so'that this solution of the'problem is not suitable for: relatively :small generators such as are used on switch engines, for example.

fI'he'; principal object of: the present. invention iis to'providea direct-current generator. in which I the field excitationis controlled so as to approach I a. condition/of constant load .on the prime mover whichdrives the generator over. a relatively wide range of-generator load current.

'Another. object of. the invention is to. providea method and means: for controllingthe field excii' tation. of. .asdirect-current. generator. in a :simple and: inexpensive manner so as to closely-approximate the excitation'required for constant loa'don the-prime mover as the generator loadcurrent varies overarelatively' wide range.

A further object ofzthe, invention is to .provide 11 direct-current generator having a. main selfeexdted field-winding and a, separately excited auxiliary fieldtwinding, in which the auxiliary field excitation is controlledinsucha manner that the resultant excitation of the .generator closel approximates the excitation required for constant power input.

.2 Amorespecific object of; the invention is to/provideza udirect-current. generator having. a main lself -excited field windingand a. separately excited :auxiliary field winding, in which the auxiliary ationis controlled so that, it adds to the rmainifield excitation -.-at.low generator voltages .sandqat high;generator voltages, and subtracts from: the .:main.ifi'eld excitation I at intermediate generator voltages, sothatthe resultant-.excita- 135 "tion of thegenerator closely pproximates theexitationrequired' for constant power input.

The invention will 1 be more fully understood .:from the following detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing; in

40 which:

:Figuresl and 2 are explana Fi 3 is a schematictwiring diagram showing a preferred embodiment of. the. invention.

--A complete understanding or the invention :..wil1.be. facilitated: byfirst considering the curves ofFigures. 1 and 2. :-In Fig. 1, there areshown the -no;-load saturation curve I of a typical'directcurrentgenerator; and ayfamily of loadsaturaationzcurves 2' showingthe characteristics atvarisous loadgcurrents. Theregiare also shown in Fig. i several excitation lines or curves, that is, curves -showing therelation between the generator ter- 'minal; voltage and thecorresponding field excitaationgobtained at any. voltage. The dotted curve 55 l-showsv the theoreticalifield excitation charactertory diagrams;. and

istic required to cause the generator voltage to vary as the load current changes in the manner required {or constant power input to the generator. In other words, this curve shows the value of voltage required at each load current for constant power input, and the corresponding field excitation required to produce that voltage. Since the excitation characteristic 3 is a curved line, it is obvious that the desired constant power input can not be obtained, or closely approximated, by a self-excited shunt generator of the conventional type, in which the excitation varies directly with the generator voltage in the manner shown by the straight line OA.

Small engine-driven generators have been used having self-excited shunt excitation with the slope of the excitation line OA adjusted by means of the field rheostat so that it intersects the theoretical excitation curve 3 at two points within the expected range of generator load. It will be apparent from 1, however, that such an arrangement is not satisfactory, since the generator has too much excitation at voltages between the points of intersection of the line A with the curve 3, so that in this range the driving engine is overloaded and its speed drops. At voltages above and below these points of intersection, the generator has insufficient excitation so that the engine is underloaded, and the speed rises. This effect is illustrated by the curve 4 in Fig. 2, which shows the variation in speed of the driving engine of a shunt-excited generator with varying load current. It will be seen that the speed drops markedly in the intermediate portion of the load range and rises at high and low load currents, the dotted portions of the curve indicating the manner in which the speed would increase, while the solid end portions of the curve show the effect of a governor in holding the speed down. which, of course, means reduced engine power. The corresponding voltage regulation of the generator is shown by the curve 5 in Fig. 2.

In accordance with the present invention, it is proposed to provide a much closer approximation to the theoretical excitation curve 3 than can be obtained with a completely self-excited generator as described above. This result is obtained by providing the generator with a main component of excitation which varies directly with the generator voltage as shown by the line OA, and which can conveniently be provided by a self-excited shunt field winding. In addition, a smaller, auxiliary, substantially constant component of excitation is also provided, and controlled so that it can be made to either add to the excitation of the self-excited field or subtract irom it. Thus, if the constant auxiliary component of excitation is added to the main component 0A. an excitation line OB results, while if the constant auxiliary component of excitation subtracts from the main excitation OA, an excitation line OC is obtained. In order to obtain a close approximation to the theoretical excitation curve 3, the auxiliary excitation component is controlled so that it adds to the main excitation OA at generator voltages below a predetermined value, indicated at X, and at generator voltages above a higher predetermined value, indicated at Y. The voltages corresponding to the points X and Y should be substantially the voltages corresponding to the points of intersection of the line 0A with the curve 3. At voltages between these two values, the auxiliary component of excitation is reversed so as to subtract from the main excitation 0A. Thus the resultant excitation of the generator follows the solid line OXX'Y'YB in Fig. 1. It will be apparent that this excitation curve gives a very close approximation to the theoretical excitation curve 3 over most of the range of generator load. The effect of this excitation characteristic is shown by the curve 6 in Fig. 2, which shows the speed of an engine driving a generator in which the excitation is controlled in this manner. As in curve 4, the dotted portions of curve 6 show the ungoverned speed. It will be seen that the speed of the engine is kept very close to a constant value, and tends to rise only at very light loads and at very heavy loads which are beyond the usual range of operation. The curve I shows the corresponding voltage regulation, and the improvement over the voltage regulation of curve 5 is evident.

3 shows a preferred arrangement for obtaining the excitation characteristic described above. This figure shows a direct-current generator 19, having a series-connected commutating winding II, and connected to supply a load circuit 12. The generator has a main shunt field winding [3, which is connected across the generator terminals in series with a field rhenstat l4 so as to be self-excited. Thus, the excitation of the main field winding 13 is directly proportional to the generator voltage, as shown by the line 0A in Fig. l, and the slope of the excitation linec rnay be adjusted by adjustment of the rheosta l The generator It! also has an auxiliary field winding l5 which is supplied from a separate, substantially constant-voltage source, such as a battery l6. An adjustable resistor I! may be connected in series between the auxiliary field winding I5 and the battery l6 to control the magnitude of the current. The connection of the auxiliary field winding IE to the battery 16 is controlled by two voltage relays l8 and I9, having operating coils 20 and 2|, respectively, which are connected in parallel across the generator voltage. The relays l8 and it are shown in their deenergized positions. The relay I8 has an upper contact 22 adapted to bridge stationary contacts 23 in the deenergized position of the relay, and stationary contacts 24 in the energized position. The relay l8 also has a lower contact 25 adapted to bridge fixed contacts 26 in the deenergized position of the relay and fixed contacts 21 in the energized position. Similarly, the relay I9 has an upper contact 28 adapted to bridge fixed contacts 29 in the deenergized position of the relay and fixed contacts 30 in the energized position, and a lower contact 3| adapted to bridge fixed contacts 32 in the deenergized position and fixed contacts 33 in the energized position. The relay I8 is adjusted to be energized and move its contacts 22 and 25 from the lower to the upper sets of fixed contacts at a voltage corresponding to the voltage Y of Fig. 1, and the relay I9 is adjusted to move its contacts from the deenergized position to the energized position at a voltage corresponding to the voltage X of Fig. l.

The operation of this system is as follows. When the generator is at rest, or operating at a heavy load current with a voltage below the value corresponding to the point X of Fig. l, the relays l8 and 19 are both in their deenergized positions, as shown in the drawing. The main field winding I3 is excited from the generator voltage, and the auxiliary field winding I5 is excited from the battery l6, current flowing from the battery through the resistor l1, contacts 3| and 32 of relay-ill; auxiliary field'winding.v l5, contacts 29 andnnsof relay 13,: and :conductor. 34 back. tov the battery. The auxiliaryfield winding I is wound so thatwhen both relays are. in their deenergized positions, the. direction of the current in the field winding I5 is such that its flux addsto the flux at the current in the main field winding I3. Underthese conditions, therefore, the resultant generator excitation follows theline OB of Fig. 1.

If .the generator load decreases, its voltage rises until, it .reachesa value corresponding to the point X. At this voltage,the.relay I9 is energized, and moves .its contacts 28. and 3| from the lower to the uppersets of fixed contacts. In this position of .the. relay I9, the. relay I8. being still deenergized, current flows from th battery through the resistor ll, contacts 22 and 23 of relay. l8, contacts 23. and 30 of relay I9, thev auxiliary field winding l5, contacts 33 and .3l of relay l9, contactslfi; and of relay [8, and conductor back to the battery. It will be seen thatthe direction of current flow in the auxiliary winding l5=has been reversed, so that its flux subtracts from the fiux of. themain field windin l3, and the excitation follows the line..O"C of Fig. 1.

Asthe generator load further decreases, its voltage rises until it reaches the value corresponding to thevoltage Y of Fig. 1. At this point, the relay I8 is energized, and moves its contacts 22 and 2,5:from the lower to the upper setsof fixed contacts, soathat both relays are nowin the energized position. Current now flows from the battery I6.:throughthe resistor I1, contacts and 25 of relay l8, contacts 33 and 3|. of relay l9, auxiliary field winding I5, contacts and 28 of relay l9, contacts and. 22 of relay l8, and conductor 34 back to the battery. It will be seen that the direction of current flow in the auxiliary field winding 15 has again been reversed, so that it is now in the original direction, and its fiux again adds to the flux of the main field winding IS. The resultant excitation, therefore, again follows the line O'B. It will be apparent that the resultant excitation of the generator, over the whole range of voltage, follows the solid excitation line in Fig. 1, since the fiux of the auxiliary field winding l5 adds to the main field flux at voltages below the point X and above the point Y, and subtracts from the main field flux at intermediate voltages. In this way, the resultant excitation of the generator I0 closely approximates the theoretical excitation curve 3 required for constant power input to the generator.

It should now be apparent that a simple and inexpensive means has been provided for controlling the excitation of a direct-current generator to cause the generator voltage to vary as the load current changes in the manner necessary to closely approach a condition of constant load on the prime mover which drives the generator, and that this result is accomplished without requiring any special exciter or regulator, and by using only two simple voltage relays with a suitable source of separate excitation for supplying a small auxiliary component of excitation.

A preferred arrangement for obtaining the desired result has been shown in Fig. 3, and described above for'the purpose of illustration, but it is to be understood that other arrangements might be used within the scope of the invention for obtaining an excitation characteristic such as that shown in Fig. 1. The specific embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3 is also capable of modification. Thus, a battery has been illustrated as a substantially constant-voltage source of. separate. excitation. for the auxiliary field winding l5, but it will beobvious. that'any other suitable voltage: sQurcesuchasa small constant--. voltage. pilot generator, might equally. well be used. It is to be. understood, therefore, that. the invention is not restricted to the particular em: bodiment shown and-described, but in its broadest aspects, it includes allequivalent embodiments and modifications which come within the-scope o! the appended claims.

I-claim as, my invention:

1. A. direct-current generator having meansfor providing a component of. field excitation which is substantially proportional to, the generator volt: age, meansfor providing a substantially constant component of field excitation, andrneans for causing said last-mentioned component of excitation to add, to the first-mentioned, component when the generator voltage is below a first pre-, determined value or above a; seeondpredeter-e mined value, and for causing the last-mentioned component of excitation to subtract from the first-mentioned component when the generator voltage is between said predetermined values.

2. A direct-current generator havingmeans for providing a; component of field excitation which is substantially proportional to the generator voltage, means for providing a substantially constan t component of field excitatiomsaid constant component of; excitation adding to the first-mentioned' component when the. generator voltage is belowa first predetermined value, means for; reversing the constant component of, excitation when-the generator voltage exceeds said ,predetermined value, and means for againreversing the constant component so'that it again adds to the first-mentioned component of excitation when the generator voltage exceeds a second, higher predetermined value.

3. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, means for supplying substantially constant excitation to said auxiliary field winding, and means for causing the auxiliary field excitation to add to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a first predetermined value or above a second predetermined value, and for causing the auxiliary field excitation to subtract from the main field excitation when the generator voltage is between said predetermined values.

4. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, means for supplying substantially constant excitation to said auxiliary field winding, and relay means responsive to the generator voltage for causing the auxiliary field excitation to add to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a first predetermined value or above a second predetermined value, and for causing the auxiliary field excitation to subtract from the main field excitation when the generator voltage is between said predetermined values.

5. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, a substantially constant-voltage source for supplying excitation to said auxiliary field winding, means for connecting the auxiliary field winding to said source so that the auxiliary field excitation adds to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a predetermined value, said connecting means including means for effecting reversal of the connection of the auxiliary field winding to the source when the generator voltage exceeds said predetermined value, so that the auxiliary field excitation subtracts from the main field excitation, and for efiecting further reversal of the connection of the auxiliary field winding to the source when the generator voltage exceeds a second, higher predetermined value, so that the auxiliary field excitation again adds to the main field excitation.

6. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, a substantially constant-voltage source for supplying excitation to said auxiliary field winding, means for connecting the auxiliary field winding to said source so that the auxiliary field excitation adds to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a predetermined value, said connecting means including relay means responsive to the generator voltage for effecting reversal of the connection of the auxiliary field winding to the source when the generator voltage exceeds said predetermined value, so that the auxiliary field excitation subtracts from the main field excitation, and for effecting further reversal of the connection of the auxiliary field winding to the source when the generator voltage exceeds a second, higher predetermined value, so that the auxiliary field excitation again adds to the main field excitation.

'7. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, a substantially constant-voltage source for supplying excitation to said auxiliary field winding, means for connecting the auxiliary field winding to said source so that the auxiliary field excitation adds to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a predetermined value, a first relay responsive to the generator voltage, said first relay being adapted to efiect reversal of the auxiliary field excitation when the generator voltage exceeds said predetermined value, whereby the auxiliary field excitation is caused to subtract from the main field excitation, and a second relay responsive to the generator voltage, said second relay being adapted to effect a further reversal of the auxiliary field excitation when the generator voltage exceeds a second, higher predetermined value, whereby the auxiliary field excitation again adds to th main field excitation when the generator voltage is above said second predetermined value.

8. A direct-current generator having a main self-excited field winding, an auxiliary field winding, a substantially constant-voltage source for supplying excitation to said auxiliary field winding, first and second voltage-responsive relays, said relays having contacts for eflecting connection of said auxiliary field winding to said source, said relays being adapted to connect the auxiliary field winding to the source so that the auxiliary field excitation adds to the main field excitation when the generator voltage is below a predetermined value, said first relay being adapted to reverse the connection of the auxiliary field winding when the generator voltage rises above said predetermined value, whereby the auxiliary field excitation subtracts from the main field excitation, and said second relay being adapted to further reverse the connection of the auxiliary field winding when the generator voltage exceeds a second, higher predetermined value, whereby the auxiliary field excitation again adds to the main field excitation.

CLARENCE A. ATWELL. 

